Samsung: We Will Not Negotiate With Apple

Head of Samsung's mobile phone business says company will not settle its patent wars with Apple like HTC has.

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It looks as though Samsung is digging in for a long fight with foe Apple. Speaking to press in Seoul, Samsung's mobile chief J.K. Shin said the company has no intention of following the example led by HTC, which recently settled all its patent lawsuits with Apple.

"It may be true that HTC may have agreed to pay [US$276 million] to Apple, but we don't intend to [negotiate] at all," said Shin. This isn't a good signal from the world's largest supplier of cellular devices.

Instead, Samsung will rely on other legal avenues with which to combat Apple, reports the Yonhap News Agency.

Apple and Samsung are embroiled in legal battles around the globe over smartphone and tablet patents and designs. Samsung has been vindicated in a number of courts around the world, but lost a huge case to Apple in the U.S. in August. A jury in San Jose found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple's patents and socked it with a $1.05 billion fine.

The judge overseeing that case demanded that Samsung and Apple meet to see if an out-of-court agreement could be reached before the jury trial started. The talks were not fruitful. At the time, it was reported that Apple refused to negotiate. Apple CEO Tim Cook has since said he despises the lawsuits -- though the company will continue to protect its intellectual property.

Apple has more profitable smartphone and tablet businesses, but Samsung has already surpassed Apple in smartphone sales. Samsung is the largest cell phone maker in the world, having bested Nokia to take the number-one global position.

Earlier this week, HTC and Apple announced a settlement of all their litigation. HTC signed a 10-year licensing deal with Apple, and is expected to pay Apple between $6 and $8 per device for using the patents. HTC decided to settle after losing several legal decisions to Apple in the U.S.

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Way to stand strong Samsung! Apple certainly will have their work cut out for them when they go against Samsung, especially when Samsung is taking a stand and fighting, rather than settling. They are not as willing as HTC to give up their past, present , or future revenues that they are producing and going to make from the design in question. Looking forward to see how this plays out.

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